An Unexpected Haven
by SWATtheWriter
Summary: Fox's life has been going down hill as of late, the consistent comparison to his father has left him with depression and doubting himself. One late night of drinking in a random bar on Cornaria he finds someone he used to know and hate but in an attempt to make amends the person offers for Fox to come there any time he wants. Will Fox take him up on this offer or suffer in silence.
1. Chapter 1

Strength is a word with many meanings. It is a word that if you ask any person on the street you will get a different definition from each of them. Fate is identical to Strength in this respect. Both words are forever intertwined with one another for you need strength to fight the path Fate has handed you. Fox McCloud lay down on his bed looking out at the stars and Cornaria as the Great Fox soared through pace thinking he wanted to do just this, however he felt as if he wasn't strong enough to do so. He had fought in wars for Cornaria, shot down countless soldiers with his team by his side and they were claimed as heroes by everyone! But something always came up when Fox was concerned, every news report and all the interviews always compared him to his father. This was something that had always been done; even when Fox was young but it didn't bother him then. However after he managed to accomplish his own achievements he still never managed to escape his father's long dead shadow. It was like a slow poison that has been killing him slowly, a knife the dug deeper with each mention of him.

A bright holographic clock was the only source of light other than the stars that shined in the room. It was being projected by his holo-phone. Fox turned his head towards the light and looked at the time it projected.

"It's midnight already? Shit," Fox sat up on his bad and lazily got up. His mind was hazy from a lack of sleep and stress, "I need a fucking drink…"

Fox honestly didn't want to drink around any of his crew mates tonight. Falco gets rather idiotic (or more idiotic if that's even possible) when he's drunk. Slippy passes out when he gets tipsy and Peppy would just nag at Fox saying that he shouldn't handle his problems this way. Fox thought of Peppy somewhat like a father but sometimes Fox couldn't stand how annoying he could be sometimes. Krystal had left a few months ago after a big fight with Fox. Rumors said she was with Panther but Fox honestly didn't care anymore, he was too angry too care. He put some something rather casual as he hoped to just blend into the crowd and just go to some shitty dive bar. He put on is thick boots, grabbed his holo-phone, and made his way out of the metal room.

The door silently slid open as Fox approached the door and closed just as quietly after he exited. He looked around and to his relief no one was in the quarters hall. Fox didn't want to alert anyone to what he was doing for fear someone might want to tag along. Falco would never take no for an answer and Slippy would just be hurt if Fox told him he wanted to be alone, he didn't need to feel guilty tonight. Fox snuck along to the docking bay and saw ROB. ROB who was always there around this time doing maintenance, Fox told him he was heading out and asked him to open the door when he was ready. Fox always liked to have his arwing ready in case he ever wanted to take a fly to a nearby populated planet. Fox hopped into his arwing and made sure everything was secure before taking off. When Fox was secure and ready he signaled to ROB to open the loading bay door, Rob complied and the thick colossal metal door opened and Fox launched into the void of space. Fox hovered outside the closing bay door for a bit as he took in all the stars and planets he could see. He always found this somewhat calming, watching the twinkling lights of stars far away. He closed his eyes and just sat there, just him, the universe, and his arwing.

"Fox, are you ok?" ROB asked in his monotone voice.

Fox snapped out of his trance, "Yeah," He repositioned himself in the cock pic and started flying off, "I'm fine…" He started fly down toward Cornaria and soon to Cornaria City to try and forget all of the troubles that plagued him.

Fox landed in a docking bay belonging to the Cornarian Military, the Star Fox team got special permission to use this whenever they wanted after all they did. Fox was relieved to see Bill wasn't there, Bill was always good friend but he was on old flame. Fox didn't need to be reminded of failed relationships tonight, all he wanted to do was grab a good beer and avoid being seen by anyone he knows. The base itself was actually very close to the city so Fox just put on the hood of his jacket and walked to the city, on the lookout for a good dingy bar no one would expect someone like him to be at. After a couple hours of walking and thankfully being unnoticed (except for a few times where his cover was almost blown) he found a small bar and walked in. The overall look of the bar was, well it was crap. Fox almost thought it might be unsanitary to even stand inside the bar, let alone sit down and get a drink. An awful mix of stale beer, sweat, and a slight mix of vomit filled the air. There was a passed Cheetah in the back corner and near the entrance to Fox was a rabbit and a cat who seemed completely shit faced as they struggled to simply hold a conversation with each other. A couple bottles of beer and some shot glasses were around them on the table and one weakly held on to a bottle in his hand as he struggled to stay conscious. Near the back Fox sat another figure but it was too dark near the back to make out an clear features but he could tell he was being watched. Behind the counter as a stoic looking dog with a glare that could shoot knives and would have probably unnerved even Andross! Fox walked up to the counter and against his better judgment sat down on one of the stools a few seats down from a purple lizard also sitting at the counter.

The bar keeper looked to Fox, "Three beers please," Fox said, the bar keep nodded and placed two bottles in front of Fox, "Thanks."

Fox quickly downed the first beer, it wasn't that bad but he honestly didn't pay attention to the taste. He could already feel a slight buzz coming on and Fox then started drinking the second one.

"HEY MAN FUUUCK YOUUS!" one of the drunks near the entrance said to the other.

Before the cat could voice his rebuttal the Rabbit's fist met with his face. Punches started flying between them and they quickly started moving through the bar. The bar keep was yelling at them but Fox didn't pay any attention and took another swig of beer. However in a quick movement the Rabbit was knocked into Fox and his hood was knocked off his head!

Before Fox could pull up his hood the purple lizard took notice, "Heyyy," his words were a bit slurred and he could easily pass for drunk, "Aren't you Fox McCloud?!"

This drew the attention of everyone in bar and they all looked at him, "Hey that is Fox!" The rabbit said.

The cat approached Fox's side and said, "Hey maaaaan! What are yous doin' in place lik' dis? Can I gets a pic? No one's goona believe this!"

"Uh no man, I just want to drink my beer in peace."

"What?" The rabbit chimed in, "Are you too good for a pic withs my friends here! You too good to be seen with normal people?!"

The cat and the rabbit both looked at Fox with vicious intent, Fox really didn't want to get into a fight tonight but it appears he has no choice now! Fox got up off the stool and the cat raised his fist but before he could even throw a punch at Fox a blaster shot right near his head crating a scorching hole in the far side of the wall. They all turned to the figure in the dark corner and where met with a small floating blue light. The figure stepped out of the shadows and to Fox's surprise it was Wolf O'Donnell!

"I don't miss twice," Wolf aimed the blaster at the cat's head again, "Leave! Now!"

The cat and the rabbit both looked at the gun aimed at them and begrudgingly left, but not without shouting insults first.

"What scum." Wolf said.

Fox stared in shock at Wolf. No one had seen him since Star Wolf's bounties were dropped for helping in the war with the Aparoids. General Pepper said they shut Down Star Wolf's operations and Fox hasn't heard anything other than the rumors about Panther and Krytal since.

"Wolf?!" Fox got into a combative stance and prepared himself for a fight. Even if he was a bit tipsy dodging a blaster would be no problem for him but to his surprise Wolf just snickered and put the blaster away in its holster.

"Relax pup I'm not going to fight you. I just saved you again didn't I? You might want to come up stairs with me."

"And why the hell should I do that?"

"Because those asshole are probably spouting their asses off about how you're I here right now and I prefer another scuffle like this not happen again tonight." His thick brows furrowed and his voice had a serious tone to it.

Fox knew he was right and begrudgingly agreed but kept his guard up.

Wolf looked to the bar keep, "Knock that guy out!" he pointed to the Lizard and the bar keep simply nodded and did as he said.

Wolf lead Fox to a stair case on the far side of the bar counter and the two walked up stairs to what appeared to be some sort of office.

The room itself was around the size of your average living room only a bit bigger. A somewhat large TV rested on a stand against the wall and a couch was in front of it. A few chairs were scattered around the room, one right next to Fox. Some posters, newspaper clippings, and some pin-ups decorated the walls. A large metal desk and a filing cabinet lined the opposite side of the wall, Wolf sat down on the chair behind the desk and rested his feet on the desk on itself. The room up here was a lot more lights then down stairs and it was easy to see everything and hopefully anything Wolf might do. On the far right corner was a door to a restroom, Fox couldn't see how big it was for the door was closed but he could see a unisex sign.

Wolf looked at Fox who was still standing near the door way giving Wolf a death stare, "I'm sure you have questions."

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Working."

"What do you mean working? Are you some crappy security guard?"

"Nope, I co-own this bar with Panther who should be here now, the slacker."

Fox paused and looked at Wolf, "Why did you help me down there?"

"Because I simply love to save your ass Fox," Wolf's answer oozed sarcasm, "Take a seat man you look like shit, you can keep your guard up if you want but I'm not going to do anything."

For some reason Fox believed Wolf's word but decided to keep hi guard up just in case.

"You seem tense," Wolf said with a cocky grin.

"I'm in a room with someone who tried to kill me several times before, can you blame me?"

"That's in the past."

"Bullshit!"

"Aww come on Pup! I'm still the big bad Wolf you know and love!" Wolf laughed a bit at his own words, "Just without his wolfen."

Fox still eyed Wolf, "No Wolfen but you still have a gun!"

Wolf sighed and took out the gun and threw it near Fox, "Happy?"

"What do you want?"

"Look Pup, I've changed somewhat," Wolf took his feet off the desk and rested his arms on it instead, "After our bounties were dropped we lost a lot of things. The only thing they let us keep was some of the money we had so we can start new lives. We all thought it would be best if we avoided crime this time."

"So here you are running a bar?"

"So here I am running a bar," Wolf relaxed and took on a more relaxed demeanor, "I'm glad you're here honestly I know it's hard to believe but seeing you makes me want to make up for all the things I did too you."

"And how would you do that?" Fox retook the serious mood Wolf had abandoned.

"Being famous must have its troubles right? You can come here anytime you want and just relax and grab a drink," Wolf smiled and put his hands behind his head.

"No way in hell!" Fox got up off the chair, put up his hood, and started heading down the stairs, preparing himself for the crowd that might be down there.

"The offer is always open Pup!" Wolf shouted as Fox rushed down the stairs.


	2. Chapter 2

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Fox said to himself as he looked up too Wolf's bar which now has a sign, "Wolf's den? He's so full of himself!" It had been a month since Fox last walked into this bar and found his old rival Wolf' O'Donnell inside. To his shock he not only drank there but actually ran it with Panther Caroso.

Fox walked into the bar and found it improved somewhat! The smell was gone somewhat and the place looked cleaner! The Bar keep was the same guy as last time, he looked at Fox and could easily tell it was him through his crappy disguise. Fox simply wore a different hood with a hat this time, luckily for Fox he was the only one. Fox regretfully started the movements of walking to the stairs leading to the top level. He looked up to see Wolf had installed a door to the top of the stairs and also some lights for the stair case itself which was good he guessed. Fox crept up to the top of the stairs and listened in on the door before knocking, behind it he could hear the TV and Wolf laughing. Fox mustered his courage and knocked on the door.

"Hold on I'm coming!" He could here Wolf say, soon the peep hole darkened and Fox could here Wolf a lot better now, "Ahh Pup!" Fox heard the door being unlock and Wolf opened the door, "I knew you'd come back!" Wolf said with a coy grin that showed his white fangs.

"Yeah, don't make me regret it." Fox said to which Wolf simply laughed and gestured him to come in inside, "Panther isn't here again, he's out and about somewhere on a date?"

Fox turned and looked to Wolf, "How is she doing together?"

"She? You mean Krystal?"

"Yeah…"

"Pup she left us last month, she said she was going back to her home planet or becoming a bounty hunter. I honestly can't remember."

"Oh…" Fox said as he sat down on the chair.

"I don't miss her she was a bitch," Wolf quickly realized what he just said and looked to Fox expecting him to be angry, "…Sorry man."

"No you're right," Fox turned to the TV and sighed, "She was a bitch."

Wolf smiled a bit then walked over back to his couch. He slumped back into his spot and said, "SO, Pup why are you here?"

"Just you know; bullshit."

"I never thought I'd suggest this, but do you want to talk about it?" Wolf asked.

Fox stayed silent as started watching the TV not wanting to respond to Wolf.

"Ya know Pup ignoring people is a very rude thing to do," Fox still didn't respond. Wolf groaned as he ran his hand through his spikey hair, "Come on, talking about it might help."

"…I guess,"

Wolf's tail started wagging a bit at his success, "There we go!"

(2 Hours Earlier)

Fox was wandering through the Great Fox's Halls trying to collect himself and calm his mind when Peppy approached him.

"Fox," Peppy put his hands to his side and stoop up straight, his nagging pose, "We all agreed that if one of us is going out we would at least brig one person along! Why did you go out alone last night?"

Fox sighed, he didn't bother asking Peppy how he knew, "Because I wanted to be alone, can't get that here you know?" Fox said trying to laugh off the situation.

"Don't treat this so lightly Fox," Peppy's brows furrowed and he leaned in a bit. He did this often when he gets angry, no one knew why but for some reason this actually made him seem more threating, "Cornaria is full of paparazzi and gutless mercenaries who would gladly kill you to make a name for themselves!"

"Oh come on Peppy," Fox had to force his light tone of voice now, "I went in a disguise, so no one even knew who I was."

"Oh I saw your "disguise" Fox. That wouldn't even fool a drunkard!"

Fox started to lose his cool a bit and it started to show, "Ok so what? I can take care of myself!"

From there the two started yelling at one another, this attracted the attention of Falco and Slippy but once the curse words started flying Slippy tried to hide behind Falco, "Honestly Fox your father would be disappointed in you!"

The hall was quiet as Peppy realized what he said. Falco and Slippy's eyes darted back and forth between Fox and Peppy as they waited to see who would break the awkward silence that was so thick you could feel in it, "Fuck off. I've had enough of this hell hole for tonight." Fox said with an icy tone and a cold shoulder. He turned and began walking towards the docking bay, no one tried to stop him.

(Present)

"And that's what happened." Fox said taking a swig of beer Wolf had handed him.

Wolf stared at the wall and sighed, "Damn man."

Fox said nothing after that; the TV was the only thing filling the silence Fox's story left. A few minutes passed as Wolf struggled to find a topic to talk about, luckily for him Fox asked a question.  
"Hey Wolf, what was your dad like?"  
Wolf was a little taken aback at this question, "Wow, second time we hang out and asking something like that."

"Oh, sorry. I guess you're right."  
"No no, it's fine. I don't mind," Wolf took a drink from his beer and stared at the ceiling, "My father was a drunken asshole who thought it was funny when his own son hid under his bed hoping that his father didn't see him. Sometimes he did but most times he was so plastered he couldn't even see the wall in front of him. Of course he blamed me for that too."  
"…" Fox was completely silent as he just stared back at Wolf.  
"He always blamed me for "ruining his life" or so he liked to say.

"What about your mom?" Fox asked, finally saying something.

"She left him a few years after they had me but because she was living with her parents the court wouldn't give her full custody. So I was stuck living with him for a good fifteen years before I was able to live with Mom. Of course near the end it wasn't so bad, I was taller and stronger than him as I was able to fight back. Luckily all the alcohol and smoking fucked up his body a lot so that gave me a good advantage. Once he realized that he just went to insults, all of which I amazingly retorted," Wolf said with a rather proud grin, "Hey pup, mind if I ask you something?"

"Oh, uh sure," Fox was a little impressed with Wolf, "Go ahead."  
"What was James like as a Dad?"  
Fox sat in silence for a bit as he thought, "He was an amazing dad. No matter how busy he was he always made time for me, even when he was away he made sure to have a video chat with me at least once a day. And when everyone started to ask if I was going to live up to his legacy he always said I'd surpass him, and just how he said it made me always made me believe him…"

"Ya know I met James before." Wolf admitted to Fox, "A few times actually."  
Fox's ears perked up as he heard this, "Really?"  
"Yup, and every time he remembered who I was, he even knew my name."  
"Dad was always good at that, you must have done something to impress him or maybe he saw something in you."  
"I don't know what I ever did to impress him," Wolf stared at the ceiling, "It made me happy though, honestly I looked up to the guy, everyone did…"

The room was silent again as the two just stared up at the ceiling. Neither said anything as they didn't want the moment to be ruined. After a few moments Wolf raised his bottle up.  
"To James."

Fox followed suit, "To Dad."


	3. Chapter 3

The sun shined brightly in the sky as the cold weather forced everyone to breakout their heavy jackets. Fox didn't mind it at all, he somewhat enjoyed feeling real air hit his face even if it was cold. It also gave him an excuse to dress in heavy clothing that hid his face form the curious public. It had been a few months since Fox had first snuck out on his own and he had gotten better at it. Fox added a scarf to disguise which hid most of his face rather nicely. The heavier jacket had a thick rim of fake fur around the hood which made his face hard to see. Of course it was a disadvantage since it masked some of his own vision but it wasn't too bad. There were a few close calls but Fox felt a lot more confident with the scarf. Dead leaves crunched under Fox's feet as he made his way towards Wolf's Bar. It had actually begun to look a lot nicer than it did the first time Fox went to it. The graffiti had been painted over and Wolf had installed railing for the stairs outside. Fox opened the door which too got a new paint job recently and walked inside as warm air bushed his face. The inside got a new paint job but still had the same overall décor. The same bartender was there like always and he saw Fox and gestured for him to go upstairs with the same stern face he always had.

Fox walked up the stairs and knocked on the door to Wolf's office which now had a crappy sign nailed to it saying it was the managers' office.

"It's me Wolf," Fox said before Wolf even answered the door.  
Fox could hear the door being unlocked and Wolf had opened it fully, "Hey there Pup! Come on in!" He said with a lit cigarette in his hand and a happy grin. He walked out of the door frame to let Fox in and went up to his desk, "What brings ya here today?"

"Oh nothing much, just decided to hang out with you today." Fox said closing the door behind him and taking his usual place on the sofa in office.

"What? Are we friends now?" Wolf asked with a sarcastic tone in his voice.

"Well I yeah I figured since I don't have the urge to punch you anymore."

"Oh Fox," Wolf spun around in his chair, "Oh the joy you have made me feel by calling me your friend," He began saying with on overly dramatic tone, "Being called a friend of the great Fox McCloud! This is the best moment in my life!"

"…So that urge to punch you is back." Fox said rolling his eyes as Wolf laughed, "So where is Panther, on another date?"  
"You guessed it," Wolf said as he took a hit from his cigarette. The smoke hung in the air for a bit, "Ditched me and left all his work too, the bastard."  
"You know I hear about all these dates Panther goes on but you're here all the time," It was Fox's turn to be sarcastic and Wolf just sighed knowing this, "I'd imagine a bad boy like you would have women crawling at his feet!" Fox laughed as Wolf did a sarcastic clap.

"Ha hah, very funny Fox, it hurts I'm laughing so hard," Wolf turned to his computer and started continuing his work, "But no, having been a wanted fugitive isn't exactly a turn on for most people, you think it would be." Wolf muttered as he continued to type away, "I don't know why he's even trying another guy; he's not gonna be happy till he dates Bill Grey." Wolf admitted.

"Honestly I'm not that shocked to hear he swings both ways." Fox laughed as he laid back further in the couch,

"Neither was I," Wolf chuckled, "He looks like someone who likes taking it in the rear." He laughed even more.

After the laughter had died down Fox continued the conversation, "You know, I actually can get him a date with Bill."

"Oh really now? How would you go about that? I'd imagine he'd just," Here comes the copious amount of sarcasm Wolf was known for, "LOVE to date a top member of the now defunct Star Wolf."

"Well when we were dating he was always up for trying new things. I'm sure he's still like that."

The sound of typing had stopped all at once as Wolf froze in shock. The only movement he made was looking over the side of his computer monitor, with a shocked expression he asked, "You dated Bill? You like guys that way?"

"Oh yeah. Shocked? Most people are," Fox laughed, "I'm pretty open about it. Girls, guys, I don't care."

"Ok," Wolf sat back in his chair, now somewhat over his shock, "Ok then, what about Bill? How'd all that go down?"

"Well at first it was a "friends with benefits" type deal," Wolf nodded as Fox went on, "But things quickly got serious and we started dating. But I left the academy after my dad died and we both knew it would be hard for us to make time for one another."

"Oh that's understandable," Wolf went back to his computer and saved his work and closed the document, "Long distant relationships are hard anyways, and besides, leaving the academy lets you do stuff the army won't let you do normally."

"Exactly." Fox nodded.

Wolf shut his computer down and got up from his desk, "Come one let's get out of here," Wolf grabbed his jacket and put it on, "It's boring here, let's go someplace fun."

"Ok sure." Fox responded as he got off the couch and followed Wolf, "What did you have in mind?

"How about the boardwalk?" Wolf asked as he put on his coat.

"That's a bit high schoolish but sure." Fox said teasing the Wolf.

After a rather boring bus ride the two arrived at the boardwalk. The smell of the salt water hit them both as they looked at the large Ferris wheel and the many boardwalk stands. The large dock was actually a bit crowded, young students on their first dates, older high school students either hanging out or on a date, and a few older couples probably trying to recapture the feeling of their first time there.

"Wow, it's pretty busy tonight," Wolf said as he looked around, "Do you want to go somewhere else?" He asked Fox.

"No it's fine, besides this place looks like fun." Fox said with a smile. Fox moved a bit of the fake fur out of his line of vision, "Let's find one of those water gun balloon games." Fox said as he began walking into the crowd.

The two found one rather quickly. The large stand itself looked rather shabby. Inside was a really fat male dog who looked a bit like Bill Grey who was running the stand, the buttons of his shirt were taunt and looked like they were ready to pop right off his large gut. He was somewhat young as he looked around Fox's age and had a large smile on his face. Inside the prizes were all gathered around the back wall of the stand; most of them were plushies of Fox McCloud alongside some cartoon characters .Fox deeply sighed upon seeing them. Wolf tried poorly to hide his laughter. The stands for the bull-eyes and the water guns were all rather simply designed. The design around the targets were a large cutouts of Andross and Andrew while the guns were large pieces of plastic that were all a single neon color, "Come one come all!" The overweight Dog behind the counter of the stand shouted to anyone and everyone as he tried to draw attention, "Play the classic boardwalk game you all know in love!" He noticed Fox and Wolf looking over at him, "You there! The happy couple! Come over and win each other a prize!"

They both looked at the rotund dog then at each other then back at him, "Us?" They both said in unison. Both realizing and went silent not wanting to add to the dog's delusions, "We're not a couple," Wolf said.

"Oh come now, no shame in hiding it!"

"We're not a couple," Fox said in a deeper voice trying to add more layers to his disguise, "But we do want to play this game." He said paying the man a few dollars and picking up a gun, Wolf then followed suit.

The dog stood back a bit and shouted, "Fire!"

Wolf and Fox both got a bull's-eye on the target as was too be expected from to marksmen such as themselves. Within a few seconds the balloon above the targets both popped at the same time, "Congratulations!" The man shouted as he unhooked two large prizes from the wall. He handed the two the large plush toys of Fox, "Come back anytime! He said cheerfully.

As the two walked away Fox just glared at the toy version of himself, "This thing is so dumb," Fox said almost wanting to throw it out, "It looks ugly too."

"Oh come on," Wolf said looking at his, "I think it's cute, it actually looks just like you!" He said holding it up alongside Fox.

"Ha ha," Fox feigned a laugh as he noticed a little kid looking at the plush toys. He was a young cat in a small pair of overalls and a yellow shit. His mom next to him was holding his hand and was watching him. She held a somewhat large purse and a bag of popcorn. Fox walked up to the kid handed him the large toy, "Here ya go kid."

Both the little kid and his mother were grateful, "What do you say to the nice man?" His mother asked her child looking down at him.

"Thank you mister!" He said hugging the toy, "I love Fox McCloud!"

"Oh do you know?" Fox looked around to make sure no one could see him. He figured the close was clear and took down his hoodie to the child and mother's shock.

"Shhh, don't let anyone one. It's our secret ok kid?"

The young cat had the biggest smile on his face ever had. He quickly hugged his hero, "Do you mind if I take a quick picture?" The mom whispered.  
"Sure," Fox put his hand on the kid's shoulder as they both looked to the cell phone the mom held up.  
"Ok, thank you so much." The mom said as Fox quickly slid his hoodie back on.  
The cat was still looking up to him with eager youthful eyes. Fox knew he had to say something cool, something the kid will always remember.  
Fox got up and turned to him, "Never give up kid, trust your instincts and follow your dreams."  
Somehow the kid's smile got even bigger and his eyes almost sparkled. Fox just smiled and walked back to Wolf.

Wolf just stared at Fox for a few seconds with a dumb smile on his face then said in a mocking tone., "Never give up kid, trust your instincts and follow your dreams." Fox's ears lowered as Wolf laughed, "That was nice of you pup." Wolf said putting his plush at his side.

"Well if I didn't give it to him I probably would have thrown it out." Fox admitted, "Come on, let's go get something to eat." He said as the smell of popcorn filled the air.

The two walked up the one of the popcorn stands and stood in line.  
"Oh geez," Fox sighed as they slowly got closer to the small stand, "This line is longer than the ones for the rides."  
Wolf leaned in, "Yeah, maybe we should just leave? I know a diner close by that's makes pretty good burgers and fries."  
"Yeah, that sounds better than popc-" Fox went silent as looked to his side and didn't move.

"Fox?" Wolf looked at the direction he was looking at and saw something stupid and just sighed.

Across the way near the Ferris wheel was Falco and Panther sitting on a bench holding hands. Wolf noticed however Falco was staring at them as well and both he and Fox started walking towards each other; Panther and Wolf reluctantly followed them.

"What are you doing with that asshole?" Fox and Falco said in unison.

"I don't think we're assholes. Do you Wolf?" Panther asked.

"Shut up asshole." Wolf said as he lit a cigarette.

"What are you doing here with him?" Falco asked Fox.

"I'm here taking a break from everything! What are you doing here?!" Falco blushed and went quiet for a few seconds as he tried to think of something to say but Fox already caught on, "You're here on a date with him aren't you?!"

Wolf looked over to Panther with a raised eyebrow and Panther just nodded.

"Fine!" Falco said, "The freaking cats out off the bag! I'm dating Panther! He's my boyfriend are you happy?!"

Fox looked a bit shocked but Panther was ecstatic, "Falco, you called me your boyfriend!" In the fasted Wolf had ever seen him move Panther grabbed Falco's wrist and started dragging him to the Ferris wheel.

"Hey we're not done here!" Fox said.  
"Wolf put a hand on one of Fox's shoulder and said, "Yeah I think you two are for now," he took a in a deep breath from his cig and let it out, "Come on lets go to that dinner."

The diner was a block away from the board walk and was somewhat empty with only two other customers there. Fox and Wolf sat in the back corner, Fox was angry ad Wolf was just sitting there listening to him go on and on. The Fox McCloud plushie sat next to Wolf and he jokingly treated it like a small child much to fox's dismay. He tied a bib around it's neck and even asked for a children's place mat for it. Fox was just choosing to ignore it for now and handle what he thought was the bigger issue.

"How can he be dating Panther? He hates Panther!"

"He did."

"And why is Panther there? Is he just bored? Is he playing Falco?"

"He's not."

"And how can he be out like that? What if someone saw him? He could get swarmed. Or what if someone saw him with Panther? That would be a PR nightmare!" Fox rested his head on the diner table, "How can you be so calm about this Wolf?"

"Because I don't care. To be honest it sounds like you're ashamed he's dating Panther, Are you ashamed of hanging out with me?" Wolf asked with a new serious cold tone in his voice.

"What?" Fox said as he raised his head back up, "No of course not."

"Then what is it? Are you jealous of Panther? Do you have a thing for Bird-Brain?"

"What no, it's just, Ugh I don't know." Fox said as he rested his head on the table again and sighed, "I guess I just never saw it coming and part of me still thinks of Krystal when I see Panther. I mean, I don't blame him for what happened. I know he didn't steal her from me; she left because she wasn't happy."

"Ahh so you're still hung up on that bitch. When she left Panther he was heartbroken; he fell into a really deep depression."

"Really?" Fox asked sitting upright again.

"Yeah, actually the only reason him and I run a bar together is because he needed a distraction. Honestly I think maybe you two should get to know each other, help each other through it."

"Yeah…"

Before the conversation could continue the waitress brought them their food, "Oh thanks doll face I'm starved!" Wolf said as he eagerly eyed the burger in front of him.

"Wow Wolf, that burger is pretty big, what is that three meat patties?  
Fox said looking down at his single cheese burger and small fries, "If you keep eating like that you're gonna get fat."

"Naaaaw I do a rigorous workout routine every morning, I need my protein."

"_Suuuuure_, whatever you say Wolf."

"Fox," Wolf took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves and flexed for Fox to show off his large muscles, "See these guns Fox? I'm ripped."

"Whoa," Fox said as he looked at them, "I didn't think you were that fit. I mean I keep in shape too but man what do you do?"

"Can't say." Wolf said as he put his jacket back on.

"What? Why?"

"Because a guy like me need to be big and buff since it fits how I fight. But you, you're thinner than me and that works for you. You're fast and agile. Your buff but not like me, you can't really be flexible when you have mass. Telling you might tempt you to change." Wolf said as he but down into his burger.

"Wow Wolf, I didn't know you were watching my movements so closely. If you want I get give you a _**better**_look." Fox gave a quick sarcastic smirk when Wolf almost choked on his food, "I'm joking man."

"Not funny pup." Wolf said as Fox kept laughing.


	4. Chapter 4

The sun was setting as snow slowly floated down from the thick clouds above. It collected on the city sidewalk and the people walking on it. It was almost 5 P.M. and the holiday dinners should be starting soon. Wolf stood atop one of the taller public building looking down at the people below. The cigarette in his mouth gave off a faint glow as the smoke got caught in the cold winter breeze. The smell and taste distracted him from all the problems in his little world.; up there it was just him and his cigarette. The sun's rays slowly dissipated as twilight faded. The dull shine the city's windows gave was replaced with reflections of the dark night sky and falling snow.

"Excuse me sir!" A young building attended said trying to get Wolf's attention, "Excuse me but we'll be closing soon. You'll have to leave."

"What? This place doesn't close till seven." Wolf said.

"Well usually, but it is Fetiumval eve sir. The boss wants to close early."

Wolf took in a deep puff then flicked his stub of a cigarette off the side of the building, "Ok."

Wolf walked down to the main lobby and once again looked at all the holiday decorations. Ribbons, reefs, those fake snowmen with all the lights, and finally a massive tree in the middle of the lobby.

"Mommy!" A little girl talked as she pointed at it, "Look at the big Fetiumval tree!" It was obvious she was enamored by the lights and shiny ornaments on the large tree.

"Yes darling it's very pretty." The mom smiled back at her.

Wolf just looked at the tree and rolled his eye; it looked like a massive eye sore to him. Wolf was the last person out of the lobby and the doors were locked behind him.

The cold air hit his face and he sighed, "I fucking hate the cold." He whispered to himself.

After an hour walk Wolf got to his bar. Frost covered the windows and the door handle was colder than ice. Wolf opened up the door and was greeted with a small amount of heat.

"Fuck! Panther where is the damn heat?!" Wolf shouted. The only people inside were the regulars and were used to Wolf yelling. Wolf didn't get a response, "PANTHER!"

Shuffling could be heard from upstairs and then footsteps rushing down the stairs. Panther's head popped out of the hallways, "What?" he asked trying to pretend nothing was wrong.

"Where is the damn heat? I can't even take my damn jacket off!"

"Yeah, it blew out while you were gone. I've been doing my best to fix it though." Panther stepped down off the stairs holding a wrench and there was some dust and black smudges on his clothes. Surprisingly Panther was quite the handyman, he fixed a lot of the appliances around the bar, "I've got some heat coming out but it's going to take a bit before I can get it up and running."

"…" Wolf just looked really irritated.

"Wolf, why don't you just go home for today? I know how the holidays make you feel."

"…Fine. I don't want to freeze my ass off here anyways." It seems like Panther's offer just made him more upset.

The door slammed behind Wolf and it shook the snow above Wolf and it all fell on him. He was beyond the point of swearing and just quietly brushed is off his shoulders and out of his hair and fur. He walked up the stairs and turned the corner, cars rushing by, people crowding the sidewalks to get home, it all gave him a massive headache.

"Wolf?" A familiar voice called out from behind him. Wolf turned around and saw Fox McCloud, "You know this is the first time I've seen you out of the bar this early!" He smiled.

"Hey Fox," Wolf said rather coldly as he continued to walk.

"Is something the matter Wolf?" Fox asked as he followed Wolf, "Why are you leaving work so early?"

"No," He said as he reached into his coat pocket and took out a cigarette and his lighter, "And I'm leaving work out heater broke down."

"Oh, sorry to hear man."

"Why are you here Fox?"

"Huh?"

"I always figured you and your crew would be having a big party or whatever."

"Oh no," He laughed a bit nervously, "Falco says he's going to be with Panther after you guys close, Slippy is spending it with his dad, and Peppy is with his daughter."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, so I was hoping to get a drink at your place before I headed back up to the Great Fo-"

Before Fox could finish his sentence a news reporter appeared on the large television screens scattered throughout the city, "This just in. A massive blizzard is rolling into the area. It is advised that everyone finds shelter as soon as possible. For more information stay tuned or go to our site."

"…Shit." Fox said as he looked up at the sky. The dark clouds seemed to have grown thicker and the snow seemed to double as they talked.

"So much for going back home," He said as he took in a puff of smoke.

"I'll just call a hotel and get a room."

"Fat chance, its Fetiumval eve Fox. I don't even think you can pull off getting a room right now."

Fox was already on his cell phone looking up numbers, "Won't know until I try," He said as he pressed a number to call. With each number he called the more depressed Fox got, he stopped after trying seven hotels, "Crap you were right." Fox stared intently at the ground, Wolf knew that look all too well. It's the same look Fox had in the middle of their fights; he was thinking a way out of this.

Wolf sighed as he scratched the back of his head, "Uhh… Do you wanna spend the night at my place?"

Fox looked over at Wolf a bit shocked at the suggestion, "You sure man? I really don't want to impose."

"I can't let you stay in the bar and if you stay outside you'll freeze. I'm not that much of a monster."

"Well, thank you Wolf, I really appreciate it." Fox said with a warm smile.

"Yeah…well, you better be happy with the couch."

"What? I get a couch? I'd assume I'd be on the floor." Fox snickered.

"Watch it pup."

Fox followed Wolf to a small apartment building a few blocks away from the bar. The building looked rather old, the paint outside was mostly chipped, it was only three stories, and the concrete staircase into the building had lot of stains on it. Fox didn't want to think about what each one of them were from.

"It's uhhh, nice place Wolf." Fox said broke his gaze away from the staircase.

"Don't lie to me, its crap." Wolf said with a smile as he took out his keys and opened the main door, "Just wait till you see the inside Pup. I can point out at least three places where people were murdered."

"…Really?" Fox asked a bit worried as he stepped inside with Wolf and took in the inside of the place, "Oh man I thought the outside was bad." The inside was a lot worse than the outside. Large chunks of tile were missing from the floors leaving just the bare concrete. There were a few large discolorations in the wallpaper where Fox guessed pictures once hung. The handrail for the stairs was missing a few bars from what he could see. The air inside smelled a bit musty, like there was mold somewhere, "Holy crap."

"Yeah it's a wonder why this place hasn't been condemned yet." Wolf put out his cigarette in a standing ashtray right by the door and walked towards the stairs, "Come on, I'm on the third floor."

Fox and Wolf walked up to the third floor and Wolf walked all the way to the door in the back of the hall. He took out his keys again and unlocked it.

"Home sweet home." Wolf said sarcastically.

Fox didn't know what he expected Wolf's apartment to be like but he was pleasantly surprised. Compared to the rest of the building, Wolf's apartment was like a five star hotel room. The paint looked brand new, the walls were bare of any sort of pictures but Fox figured Wolf wasn't the sentimental type. All the furniture looked a bit old but rather nice. Wolf's TV was actually pretty big; it looked like it was thirty-two inches. It was resting on a rather plain looking entertainment center but it did the trick. In front of the four-seat couch was a rather nice coffee table with a glass top. There were a few boxes tucked neatly into the corner. The living room and kitchen were pretty much one room with just a wall that had a doorframe and large square cut out for a window as the only real distinct separation. Next to the kitchen doorframe was a small hallway with a door in the middle of the wall and another at the end; Fox guessed the first one was the bathroom and the last was the bedroom.

Fox looked at the place with pleasant shock, "Wow, nice place Wolf. It certainly stands out from the rest of the building." Fox said as the two walked in and took off their shoes.

"Thanks, the landlord let me renovate the place. I get to pay cheap rent and if I ever move out she gets the rack the rent up a good hundred bucks." Wolf walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, "Hey you want a beer?"

"Yeah, thanks." Fox said as he stood a bit awkward.

"Relax man, take a seat on the couch," Wolf said as he plopped down onto the couch and held out a beer to Fox, "It's were you're gonna be sleeping tonight so you might as well get used to it now."

Fox nodded as he took the beer and sat a cushion away from Wolf, "I gotta say Wolf you did a pretty good job fixing this place up, I didn't know you were such a homemaker." Fox teased.

"Heh, yeah, not a lot of people are willing to come fix a space station run by galactic fugitives so we all had to learn how to fix stuff ourselves."

"We?" Fox asked before he took a swig of beer.

"I took up domestic stuff like walls and stuff, Panther took up all the mechanic stuff like fixing the ovens and crap, and Leon took up most of the cooking."

Fox almost spat out his drink upon hearing that, "I can't imagine that guy cooking at all."

Wolf laughed a picked up the remote and turned on the TV, "Yeah neither could I. After we left the Venom army he just started cooking, said it was stuff his mom taught him."

Fox was a bit still freaked out at the idea of Leon standing in a kitchen with an apron cooking.

"Panther was the biggest surprise though. He said he has an engineering degree or some shit," Wolf laughed a bit to himself, "He actually did all the work on his own Wolfen, never let anyone touch it."

The two just sat and chat while watching TV for a while; it was nice. Since Wolf only had basic cable the two were suck watching whatever was on and since most of it was crap they made fun of a lot of it.

Wolf finished his beer and sighed, "Crap, hey Fox can you get me another beer? You can get yourself another one too if you want."

"Oh ok sure," Fox got up and walked into the kitchen. The cold tile against his socks sent shivers down his spine. No matter what training you can go through cold tile is an unbeatable opponent. Fox opened the refrigerator door and was shocked to see the makings of a feast inside, "Whoa, Wolf what's with all this?"

"All what?"

"All this food? You have a Fetiumval feast in here."

"Oh right… My dad was gonna come over originally but had to cancel last minute since his girlfriend wanted to do something."

"Oh…"

"It's ok, I'll just have Leon come over and make it if it doesn't go bad."

Fox paused as he looked at the food. He popped his head out of the windowless window, "Tell you what, how about I cook all this food for you as a thank you for letting me spend the night."

"Uhh I mean if you want sure, you don't have to though."

"It's ok really, I want to. Plus it would be a shame if all this went to waste, now where are your bread crumbs and stuffing?" Fox asked as he began washing his hands.

"Top shelf next to the fridge, the pots and pans are in the closet on the other side," Wolf paused as he got up to look inside the kitchen. Fox was already at work putting a dry rub on the turkey, somehow he already found the spices, he sure worked fast, "Do you want any help?" Wolf asked as he got some pots and pans for Fox.

"If you want you can start peeling the potatoes but leave all the big stuff to me."

"Ok sure." Wolf said as he picked up the bag of potatoes and took out the peeler.

Within the hour Fox had taken full control of Wolf's kitchen. He had all four burners on the stove top going, the turkey was in the oven, and Fox was stirring something in one of the larger pans. The whole apartment smelled amazing.

"Fox I gotta ask," Wolf said as he slid the peeled and cut potatoes into a pot of boiling water, "Where the heck did you learn to do all this?"

Fox paused for a moment as he got lost in thought for a second. A small smile formed on his face, "My dad."

"Oh."

"My mom died a few weeks after I was born so my dad just took up everything she did," as Fox talked he had this solemn smile which made him look rather stoic. Wolf didn't know why but he was kind of struck in awe of Fox; he couldn't look away, "Peppy told me dad was always a good cook. I remember everyone would come over for the holidays and dad would always in the kitchen putting together a feast. He always let me help out and he always made cooking fun," Fox quickly snapped out of his mindset, "Oh sorry, I went on a tangent there didn't I?"

Wolf quickly snapped out of his daze too, "Oh no it's fine. I wasn't even paying attention." He joked.

Fox snickered, "You asshole."

After a few hours the feast was ready and the two brought it all out and somehow managed to get it all to fit on Wolf's coffee table. Wolf looked at the food eagerly as he couldn't remember the last time he saw that much well prepared food.

"Let's dig in," Fox said.

"Hell yeah!" Wolf added.

After an hour or two of eating and watching bad TV most of the feast was gone. Wolf rested into his couch as he relaxed. The food was so good he could see himself getting fat off Fox's cooking, "I gotta say Fox that was pretty damn good."

"Glad you like it," Fox said as he got up and started taking the dishes.

"What are you doing now?"

"I'm going to clean the dishes, what else?"

"Aww wait wait," Wolf said as he struggled to get up, "Let me help you!" Wolf finally got up but immediately missed the comfort of his couch.

"You don't have to, this all is my thanks for letting me stay."

"Yeah I know but I'd feel like crap leaving all these dishes for you. I know I'm an asshole but I'm not that much of one,"

"Fine," Fox laughed.

The two stood next to each other talking as they cleaned the dishes and loading them into Wolf's crummy little dishwasher. He thought about how just a few years ago they were at each other's throats. But now, here they are, doing the dishes together, Wolf couldn't explain it but for the first time in a while he actually felt bliss.

-  
Two days later.  
-

"And that's what happened doc," Wolf said. He was lying down on a really nice therapist couch. That was always Wolf's favorite part of coming to these crappy mandated therapy sessions, the couch. It was the most comfortable thing in the world.

A female Leopard asked Wolf. Her blonde hair was tied up into a neat little bun. She wore a rather professional pants suit and she sat on an expensive looking swivel chair, "And how did this make you feel Wolf?"

"I dunno," Wolf paused as he though, "It… made me really happy; doing something like that. It was like nothing else existed in that moment but my crappy apartment and us."

"You told me you hate the holidays because of your mother, yet you said you enjoyed this one. Could perhaps be because of Mr. McCloud?"

"I dunno, I think so?"

"Why do you think that is?" She asked as she wrote stuff down on a pad of paper.

"I-I don't know. It just felt right."

"Well Mr. O'Donnell, to me one thing is clear."

"Whats that?" Wolf asked breaking his gaze from the ceiling and turning his head toward the therapist.

"It's clear to me you love this man."

Wolf was shocked at what she said, "What? You're crazy," Wolf sat up, "You should be on this couch not me." He said pointing down to it.

"Think about Wolf, you went from fighting with this man every chance you got to being happy whenever you see him. You find joy in spending time with him, being under the same roof as him, cooking with him, looking at him smile. You even enjoy doing something as simple as cleaning the dishes with him. That all sounds like stuff a married couple would do."

Wolf wanted to deny everything she said. He wanted to storm out of her office and call her a quack. But he didn't, he just sat there in silence thinking about what she said.

"He single handedly turned one of the worst days of the year for you into something you fondly look back on. He makes you happy no matter where you are, as long as he's there. I know he used to be your rival, but now he's more like an unexpected haven for you," she paused as she took of her glasses, "Wolf, when you first came here you were an unruly arrogant person who kept up a strong front all for the sake of pushing people away. I know you must be scared about hearing this."

"I don't love him, I can't. That's just-"

"Don't let yourself push him away. Wolf, when I first got you as a patient I thought, here is someone who will never change because he doesn't want too. But then you started talkign to me and I began trying to chip away at your walls. But here comes along someone who knocks them down in one fell swoop. And the best thing of all, you're letting him."

Wolf was just silent now.

"Wolf if there is one person who makes you truly happy, that makes you excited to get up in the morning, excited to see, excited to be with. Cherish that person, cherish the time together. Being with him will help you learn to open up more. I want to see you stop being this broody stoic guy, and be the funny sarcastic person I know you really are." therapist's timer went off, "Oh dear, our time appears to be up Mr. O'Donnell," She got up and opened the door for him. Wolf walked out, still lost in thought, "I want you to think about what we talked about today. I'll see you next week." She said with a smile as she closed the door behind him.

Wolf was in a trance as he walked down the hall and out of the building. He looked up at snow falling from the clouds in the winter sky. He took out a cigarette lite it. The smoke danced across the cold winter air and it's smell did not distract Wolf as he hoped it would had, "Holy crap," he said to himself, "I'm in love with Fox."


End file.
